Endless Space

Amplitude Studios has grown significantly since the Parisian developer, as a small team that you could count on one hand, first conceived Endless Space. Now they work out of two floors in a high-rise near the centre of the metropolis and are busy working on their fourth game, Endless Space 2. Recently, they announced a partnership with publisher Sega.

It s an evolution and escalation that s echoed in their games. Endless Space 2, then, is an opportunity to show everyone just how much they ve grown, combining the ideas that birthed their first game with the lessons they ve learned through the much lauded Endless Legend. I spoke to the company’s two founders to discuss why they’re making the game now, what the partnership with Sega means for the studio, and more.

Endless Space 2 is the sequel to French studio Amplitude s cosmic 4X game, though it feels just as much a follow-up to their exceptional fantasy strategy affair, Endless Legend. Comfortably sitting next to all the numbers, resources and planetary management are lively stories, epic quests, and fascinating space-faring species, each with distinct hooks the ingredients that made the company s last game something special.

I traveled to Amplitude s offices to get my hands on the game, and thus far my goal is to try and get rich the noblest of pursuits.

Sega has acquired Endless developer Amplitude, hoovering up another strategy great and putting the series alongside the likes of Total War.

We at PCG are big Endless Legend fans the mad variation between factions alone sets it apart from the 4X crowd. With the takeover, Sega will take charge of publishing the inbound Endless Space 2. It'll still go through Early Access though. We're told to expect it later this year.

Sega have acquired Amplitude, creators of the Endless series of strategy games. Endless Legend was our game of the year in 2014 and its predecessor Endless Space is set to receive a direct sequel that will enter Early Access later this year. Sega will now publish that game, as well as assuming responsibility for the back catalogue of Endless games, which includes Dungeon of the Endless, a fantastic tower-defense/roguelike hybrid.

Amplitude are one of the smartest young strategy studios around and they join Creative Assembly, Relic and Sports Interactive (Football Manager is> a strategy game) in Sega’s stable of PC developers. That’s a mighty strong line-up for a company that old men like me still associate with ancient consoles and platform games rather than PC publishing.

Amplitude Studios is celebrating its fifth birthday with its second annual Endless Day: a day that lasts from 21 to 25 January, and that offers up rare heroes and achievements to people who play their games during this time, and who fulfil various conditions. That stuff is detailed here, and includes a trio of heroes simply for starting new games of Endless Space, Endless Legend, and Dungeon of the Endless. You can also bag some time-limited achievements, though these will require a mite more effort.

(Amplitude hints here that you might be able to get these things after January 25, perhaps by mucking about with the time settings on your computer.)

During a celebratory livestream, Amplitude also announced a new expansion for Endless Legend titled Shifters. Ampz sez "this expansion will include a new Major Faction called The Allayi. This new civilization will be able to shift during long winters", a fine alternative to sticking the heating on and hugging a hot water bottle, I reckon. Meanwhile, "all factions will also be able to collect a new resource called the Pearls of Auriga , enabling them to unlock new powers through the Altar of Auriga and modify the upcoming winters impact". Good on them.

The Endless Day has returned! :) We're celebrating today our studio's 5th anniversary with in-game events, tons of giveaways on Twitter, a special live stream and an office party!

Play Endless Legend, Dungeon of the Endless and Endless Space before Monday, January 25 to discover and permanently unlock rare Steam achievements or play with Tarosh the Archivist in each game. For more information, check out this FAQ:

ENDLESS DAY SPECIAL CONTENT - SPOILER ALERT

ENDLESS SPACE

How to unlock the Emlek Tarosh hero: you need to start a new game of Endless Space (make sure you have disabled your mods if you are playing with any), before January 25th (end of the event). If you manage to do so, the hero will be unlocked for your future games once the event is over.

To unlock the “Endless Day” achievement: win a game in “Endless” difficulty, started between January 21st and January 25th, but completed at any time.

DUNGEON OF THE ENDLESS

How to unlock the archivist, Esseb Tarosh: you need to start a new game of Dungeon of the Endless. The hero will be available in your pool right away, for the duration of the event. Like any other heroes in DotE, you need to survive at least three floors with the hero or finish the game with it. If you manage to do so, once the event ends, you will be able to keep the Esseb Tarosh in your pool of heroes.

How to unlock the “Endless Day” achievement: you need to start a new game in any difficulty, hire the archivist hero and keep it alive, and complete the game. Make sure you start and complete a game between January 21st and January 25th in order to get the achievement.

ENDLESS LEGEND

How to unlock the Eslek Tarosh hero and the “Endless Day” achievement: you need to start a new game of Endless Legend (make sure you have disabled your mods if you are playing with any), before January 25th (end of the event!). Once you have built your first city, a new quest will appear: “Day of the Awakening”. Complete it and you will unlock the new hero and the Steam achievement.

TWITTER GIVEAWAYS

Twitter giveaways will be taking place all day long on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter (@Amplitude) for a chance to win Steam keys for all our games and a great Endless goodies package! This event starts at 10am CET, and we plan to continue giving keys away throughout the whole day! So stay tuned, and good luck!

MEZARI

As a thank you for being part of our community, we will be unlocking the Mezari faction (Vaulters faction skin) for everyone in Endless Legend!

LIVESTREAM

Don't miss our Live Stream, starting at 4pm CET with Mathieu & Romain, our co-founders! They'll discuss the studio's recent achievements, give updates on current projects, and drop hints about what comes next. Follow us on Twitch and be sure to tune in!

BEER2GETHER

A Beer2Gether event will be taking place over at our studio in Paris. There's no more room for this one, sorry, be sure to be among the first to register next week to be able to visit us!

The Endless Day events conclude on January 25th at 12am CET. Achievement hunters, make sure to get them before then!

Perhaps Amplitude’s award-winning strategy game really is> endless. A large free update for Endless Legend [official site] is due to land sometime today and there will be two cash-money chunks of DLC arriving alongside. The free stuff comes under the heading Forges of Creation and brings AI improvements, new modding tools, including compatibility with free map editor Tiled and the ability to reskin 3D units. There will also be Steam Workshop integration. The two purchasable packs contain new music, items and minor faction quests. More details below.

It's been crazy here these past few days, with the iPad announcement for Dungeon of the Endless, the Endless Legend: Shadows expansion and Gamescom approaching. The Endless mysteries have almost all been solved now and you have unlocked the ENDLESS SPACE 2 website and teaser.

Thank you so much for your hard work and enthusiasm: it was a real pleasure to follow your progress on this treasure hunt through this thread and on our social networks. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter and invite your friends for exclusive in-game goodies! :)

The next game from Endless Legend creators Amplitude Studios has been announced. It's Endless Space 2, a sequel to the space-based 4X strategy. Below, you can watch the first trailer—a CGI affair that should successfully put you in the mood for some galactic colonisation.

Endless Legend fans will note that the trailer's ship is the same one from that game's recent free update. It added a victory condition that, as Tom Senior put it, "lets you build a spaceship and flee the planet in a culture-wide mic-drop exit that will make your enemies sad." Here's the ship in-game, and here's some lovely concept art.

It suggests that the new game will more directly tie into Endless Legend.

Head over to the official Endless Space 2 site to attempt to glean any additional information. It's slim pickings right now, but we'll learn more next week at Gamescom.

Endless Space was a fine 4X strategy game with interesting, distinct races and a best-in-class interface. Then Amplitude Studios’ follow-up was Endless Legend, a fantasy 4X game set within the same universe which was best-in-class in general. In fact, we named it the best game of 2014.